Freedom New Mexico President Barack Obama recently returned from a whirlwind trip to Afghanistan, where he sought to encourage U.S. troops and reportedly delivered yet another lecture to Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the importance of reducing corruption in an endemically corruption-riddled regime and being able actually to deliver services to the people after U.S. […]

Cannon Connections photo: Liliana Castillo Landall Goolsby picks copies of “500 Days of Summer” of the shelves of his movie store Landall’s Box Office to send to airmen overseas. By Liliana Castillo: Cannon Connections The Goolsbys sent 1,600 movies to airmen overseas last year and their goal is to break that record. Landall Goolsby owns […]

Freedom New Mexico It might be nothing significant. Of necessity the military is always making contingency plans, often to deal with circumstances nobody seriously expects but for which the military wants to be prepared if the unlikely happens. Most of those plans stay on the shelf. Nonetheless, the announcement by Army Gen. Ray Odierno, our […]

Christmas trees are loaded onto a Fed-Ex truck for delivery on Nov. 10 to be shipped out to troops in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan from the Christmas Spirit Foundation. The organization is also planning to send trees to families at Cannon Air Force Base. By Clarence Plank: Cannon Connections Christmas Spirit Foundation and Fed-Ex are […]

By Samantha Quigley: American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON — Deployed and hospitalized servicemembers are expected to make about 120,000 calls home this Veterans Day, and it won’t cost them one thin dime Officials from the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization are once again offering “Free Call Day” through its Operation Uplink program USAA, which offers […]

Freedom New Mexico As he continues to stretch out the timetable on a decision about whether to escalate the U.S. commitment to the war in Afghanistan, President Obama has asked for a province-by-province assessment of the tribal and other local leaders in that mountainous country. The ostensible reason is to try to figure out which […]

Courtesy photo: ENMU Eastern New Mexico University student James Golden (left) and Nikki Howard executive secretary of Academic Affairs help fill care boxes for military members in Iraq and Afghanistan. By Clarence Plank: Cannon Connections Eastern New Mexico University has been collecting donations of different items to send to troops over in Afghanistan and Iraq […]

Freedom New Mexico This country would be much safer, with its core national interests better served, if the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan were ended immediately. While U.S troops are in the field, however, it is difficult to express just how utterly unconscionable it is for Congress to divert money requested for fuel, ammunition […]

Cannon Connections photo: Liliana Castillo Leslie Scott organized the same supply drive when she was stationed in England. By Eric Butler: Cannon Connections Suffering an injury while serving in Afghanistan or Iraq, a soldier can be happy knowing that medical personnel will rush the injured far out of harm’s way in order to quickly treat […]

President Barack Obama told congressional leaders Thursday that the “era of the blank check is over” in Afghanistan. But the plan he laid out Friday looks very much like a blank check for an increased military and civilian presence in Afghanistan that is unlikely to be successful or to end any time soon. The Afghan […]

By William Bradner: American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON — A Disney vacation just got more affordable for military members and their families. With the “Disney’s Armed Forces Salute” offer, active and retired military personnel, including active members of the Coast Guard and activated members of the National Guard or Reserve, can enjoy complimentary, multiday admission […]

Freedom New Mexico Army National Guard members from Clovis and Portales are in Louisiana to help out in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav. Among the more than 500 personnel sent were 90 assigned to the 717th Brigadier Support Battalion out of Roswell, which includes members in Clovis and Portales, according to National Guard spokesman Lt. […]

Cannon Connections: Karl Terry ENMU staff members Nikki Howard, right, and Belinda Hilliard stuff items into a decorated box that will be sent to military service members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some boxes have already been sent and others are pending. By Mickey Winfield: Cannon Connections A group of Eastern New Mexico University employees […]

By Lt. Col. Adriane Craig, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan — Three National Football League stars and a senior sports writer visited Manas Air Base Airmen as part of a United Service Organizations tour here this month. San Diego Chargers Luis Castillo, Chicago Bears Tommie Harris, Carolina Panthers Mike Rucker […]

By Freedom New Mexico The U.S. plan to send an additional 3,200 Marines into southern Afghanistan at least reflects a dawning understanding that the struggle to neutralize jihadism and jihadists may be going on more directly in Afghanistan and Pakistan than in Iraq — and the struggle is not going especially well. Just in the […]

Staff and wire reports WASHINGTON — The Senate on Friday passed a defense policy bill that would offer more help to troops returning from combat and set conditions on contractors and pricey weapons programs. The bill will make approximately $9 million available to Cannon Air Force Base and also sets funding for the Waste Isolation […]

Cannon Connections Clovis businessman and long-time Cannon Air Force Base advocate Randy Harris joined a handful of civic leaders from around the country a little more than two weeks ago on a trip to deployed military locations and combat zones. Sponsored by the Air Force Chief of Staff’s office, the Air Force Civic Leaders Group […]

Torturing enemy endangers our troops Does torturing enemy prisoners make you feel good? If so, consider this: We are a God-fearing nation believing “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Our belief in that Golden Rule gives terrorists permission to inflict tortures on captured American troops identical to tortures we inflict […]